TL;DR – Anyway, if you really distrust our system so much, bring your own pen lor.
Did you receive messages warning you about pens with invisible ink?
And to bring your own pens come polling day?
Some of us have also received a link to this video showing how “fake pens” were supposedly used during elections in Kazakhstan.
Such false information has been circulating in the last couple of days.
So bad that our Elections Department (ELD) has just come out to address this false information.
These are the things to note:
It’s false information that specially-treated ballot papers and self-inking pens will be used on Polling Day so that marks on the ballot papers become “invisible” after several minutes.
“ELD would like to state categorically that this is not true,” it said, adding that marks made by the self-inking pens are permanent.
“In fact, the ink is oil-based, and water and temperature resistant. Similar pens have also been used in elections in other countries, including the Republic of Korea.”
The ballot papers used for this year’s General Election are “no different” from the ballot papers used in previous elections, and are printed under tight security conditions, ELD said.
Why are we using self-inking pens for GE2020?
The self-inking pens were introduced to allow voters to indicate their choice on the ballot papers “clearly and easily”, the ELD said.
And they’re doing due to past feedback that some voters, especially more senior voters, had difficulty gripping regular pens to mark their votes.
Yes, you may bring your own pens
If you’re so paranoid or super don’t trust our system, OK lor, bring your own pens.
What the ELD wants you to know
The ELD said it is committed to ensuring “voting security and secrecy”, and that there are “rigorous controls” at every step of the voting process.
So please lah, this is Singapore leh, not some cowboy town.